Carlton Ramsey

Jackson Elias’ lawyer and friend, now executor of his estate and point of contact (and cash) for the investigators.

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

A small, wiry African-American man, filled with nervous energy. His eyes flick around as he speaks, and he constantly fidgets with his pen, coffee spoon, or anything else that comes to hand. The expensive bespoke suit he wears looks a little shiny and frayed. While he is clearly going bald, Ramsey tries to mask this by pasting strands of well-oiled hair across his crown.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

• Link: Ramsey contacts the investigators to invite them to the reading of Elias’ will (The Funeral, page 127).
• Link: Jonah Kensington knows Ramsey and suggests that the investigators get in touch with him if they want to continue their friend’s work (Prospero House, page 128).
• Link: a meeting at Jackson Elias’ funeral (The Funeral, page 127).

Ramsey has been Jackson Elias’ lawyer for as long as Elias has been a professional writer. As well as dealing with contracts and the occasional legal entanglement, Ramsey also manages Elias’ finances and carries out administrative functions whenever his client goes traveling the world in search of a story. His office is located in Harlem, on 124th Street and Lenox Avenue.
Ramsey acts as the executor of Elias’ estate, contacting the investigators to invite them to the will reading. Over the years Ramsey and Elias have become friends, and while he handles his duties as executor with professionalism, he is obviously deeply upset.
Roleplaying hooks: as part of his duties as executor of Elias’ estate, Ramsey is in charge of his former client’s funds. Elias left instructions that these are to be used to carry on his work, and as such, Ramsey is in a position to finance the investigators’ travels, act as a central point of contact for disparate groups, and potentially recruit new investigators when others fall to injury, madness, or death (Replacement Investigators, page 27, Introduction). Ramsey is also in possession of copies of some of Elias’ notes, allowing him to provide the investigators with any useful handouts they may have missed at Elias’ hotel room.

Social

Mannerisms

Ramsey speaks quickly, often appearing to lose track of what he is saying before he reaches the end of a sentence. His speech is punctuated with asides and digressions, some of which are complete non-sequiturs. Despite appearances, he has a sharp intellect and a sound knowledge of the law, and those who underestimate him because of his eccentric manner risk being caught off guard.

Current Location

New York City

Age

54

Gender

Man